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TRIMONT - Sudden illness can take a toll on a family in more ways than one.

Bruce Borntrager of Borntrager Auto Body in Trimont and his wife Heather have not been able to work for nearly a month after Bruce was suddenly struck with severe headaches that progressively got worse.

"He started getting the headaches at the end of September, and on September 27, we went to ISJ in Mankato," Heather recalled. "Then we were transferred to Abbott Northwest in the Cities and we just got home Monday."

Bruce was diagnosed with viral meningitis, which turned into encephalitis, or swelling of the brain.

"It was scary," Heather said. "In one phase, he said his headaches were about a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10. At one point, he was hallucinating and had confusion."

Now back home, Bruce is still weak and has lost a great deal of weight.

"Now we just need to get his system functioning again," Heather said.

The couple have two young children - ages 5 and 2 - who stayed with relatives while Bruce was in the hospital. Heather missed work at Triumph State Bank to help care for Bruce.

"Both our workplaces have been very understanding," she said.

However, the medical bills piled up quickly.

"It's been a hardship on their family," said family friend Tina Krumweide, who is hosting a bake sale Saturday to help the family. "I just wanted to do this to help get them through for a little while; to help hold them over."

The bake sale will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the former hog-buying station north of town.

"We've got a list of about 15 to 20 people who are donating goods and time," Krumweide said.

The bake sale is a prelude to a bigger spaghetti feed fund-raiser scheduled for Nov. 22 at the school building in Trimont. Along with the feed, items are being accepted for a silent auction being put on by the All-Season Four-Wheeler ATV Club.

For more information on the fund-raisers or to help, contract Borntrager Auto Body at (507) 639-3082.